Tennessee jobless rate lowest since early 2008

Tennessee jobless rate lowest since early 2008

Business filings grow 5.3 percent in the past year

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said today the seasonally-adjusted jobless rate declined by a tenth of a percent to 5.6 percent during October. Since the start of the year, Tennessee's unemployment rate has declined from January's 6.7 percent and last month's jobless rate was down from 6.6 percent in the same month a year ago.

"The pattern is very encouraging on the job market and is another sign of growth in Tennessee," said Dr. William Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee.

Tennessee's jobless rate is still above the national unemployment rate of 5 percent, however.

Nonetheless, Tennessee's economy continues to show growth overall. Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett released a quarterly business report today that showed the number of new business filings in the Volunteer State was up by 5.3 percent in the third quarter of 2015 — the 15th consecutive quarter of business filing growth.

"The data demonstrates how strong Tennessee's economy is now, and how strong it could be moving forward," Secretary Hargett said. "We are in a position that would make just about any other state envious."